Samsung's new ArtPC Pulse desktop takes inspiration from Mac Pro

With its new desktop PC, Samsung hopes it has another hot product on its hands — just not that kind of hot. In news that will surprise no one, the Korean company appears to be inspired by Apple yet again when it comes to the design of the ArtPC Pulse.

If a computer shaped like a cylinder seems familiar, that’s because the Mac Pro has taken that form for the last couple of years. It’s also remarkably similar to the look of HP’s new Pavilion Wave desktop. The shape has made its way into so-called connected speakers as well, such as Amazon’s Echo and the new Google Home. Not so coincidentally, Samsung has made the built-in speaker a big part of the ArtPC’s appeal, making sure the Harmon Kardon label is emblazoned on the top part of the computer (much as HP has the Bang & Olufsen logo displayed on the Pavilion Wave).

Whereas the Wave tries to inject high design into a mainstream system, the ArtPC is more of a performance desktop. The base system includes an Intel Skylake Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and AMD Radeon RX 460 graphic, while the pricier version comes with a Core i7 CPU, double the RAM, and a terabyte hard drive in addition to the solid-state drive, That hard drive comes as a module, so it can be added to the base model anytime as an option.

While HP gives its cylinder PC the signature wave pattern woven on its exterior, Samsung goes with a more traditional black metal desktop aesthetic, topped with a blue ambient light. The ArtPC’s base config is about an inch and half taller than the Pavilion Wave, and the hard drive module adds another inch.

The Wave is significantly cheaper than the ArtPC Pulse, though Samsung’s PC is significantly cheaper than the Mac Pro. You can obtain a Pavilion Wave for little more than $500, but the ArtPC’s starting price for pre-ordering through Amazon is $1,199.99, with the more powerful version costing $400 more. Though that’s quite a bit for a non-gaming system, it’s also far cheaper than its design inspiration, as the Mac Pro starts at nearly $3,000. The ArtPC Pulse will start shipping at the end of this month.